Krasnodar send Leverkusen packed on away goals

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-22 07:11:21|Editor: Yamei

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BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov's free-kick helped Russian side Krasnodar tie Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 on road and advance into the Europa League last 16 on Thursday with the advantage of an away goal.

Krasnodar earned a goalless draw at home with Leverkusen in their first leg duel.

The Bundesliga powerhouse were highly motivated into the second leg encounter and took the reins from the kick off. As a result, Leon Bailey tested Kranodar's goalkeeper Matvei Safonov twice in the opening period.

As the match progressed, Leverkusen let the ball do the work and came to another chance as Lucas Alario forced Safonov into action once again in the 36th minute.

The visitors focused on fast breaks and had the golden chance to open the scoring before the break but Viktor Claesson was unable to overcome goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky following an one-on-one.

After the restart, Leverkusen controlled the ball possession on the pitch but lacked in penetration whereas Krasnodar lurked for counter attacks.

The hosts almost broke the deadlock but Lucas Alario's shot on target rattled only the woodwork in the 72nd minute.

However, Krasnodar eventually marked the opener out of the blue as Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov slotted home a direct free kick into the top right corner on 84 minutes.

Leverkusen responded well and levelled the scores only four minutes later through Charles Aranguiz but the equalizer wasn't enough due to the away-goal rule.

"We are extremely disappointed. It's clear that scoring an away goal would have served us well in the first leg. We played right into Krasnodar's hands today," Leverkusen midfielder Kevin Volland said.